


PHS

by antiprotag



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Post Advent Children, cloud is sad and so am i, is it cloti? is it clerith? not really but take it however you want, there are others here but don't need tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 04:06:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antiprotag/pseuds/antiprotag
Summary: There are memories of things lost everywhere, memories clear enough to see and memories hidden right under your nose.





	PHS

Moments before he can throw his leg over his bike and head for the next delivery on his list, his phone rings. He flips it open and waits to hear the familiar voice.

“Hey, Cloud.”

“Tifa.”

“You’ve been pretty busy lately. The kids ask about you often.. How’s Fenrir holding up?”

Cloud lowers his head only a bit and shoots a quick glance at his bike. “Same as always.” He always did his best to make sure she was in good condition, especially since she’s constantly on the road.

“Mm, no surprise there.” She doesn’t admit it, but she always tries her best to keep their conversations going and keep him on the line for as long as she can, even if she had to ask pointless questions to get answers she already knew. Maybe she worries too much and maybe Cloud is a different person now after everything they’ve all been through, but.. Sometimes he scares her, or maybe it was the fact that she cared about him so much that scared her more.

There’s a moment of silence between them before her voice chimes again through the phone, Cloud simply standing in wait.

“You’ve been busy working on all your deliveries and we’ve been getting a lot of requests coming in since you left, but yesterday someone called asking that you come speak to them personally about a ‘very important delivery’...” Tifa pauses. “I didn’t get a name, but they left their number here for you. Said they wanted you to call when you could.”

“I see.”

“You don’t think that’s a little strange? You’ve never had someone ask for something like that, have you?”

“Not that I know of,” he says. It is a little strange, but he doesn’t think much of it. Could be a private matter. As long as he was paid for his work, he was okay with doing most things people asked for.

“Well, I called to see if you’d like the number in case you wanted to get it done while you’re already out there.”

“Sure.”

Tifa slowly repeats the number a few times before Cloud memorizes it and repeats it back one last time.

“Got it. Thanks,” says Cloud, shifting on his feet.

“Cloud..”

“Don’t worry,” he says rather kindly and calmly, but quickly. He can always feel the emotions behind her tone of voice. He’s used to the way she still expresses her care even in the smallest situations. It’s what makes her Tifa. “I’m almost done. You can tell the kids I’ll be back in a couple days.”

She sighs, but it’s more a relieved sigh than an exasperated one. “..Alright. Be careful out there, okay? Marlene and Denzel will be upset if you don’t show. Don’t want them to be mad at you again, do you?”

Like it’s somewhat of a small miracle on a dreary day, he chuckles so lightly that she almost can’t hear it, like his happiness is just a whisper, but she treasures it and smiles on her end, the worry she felt slowly fading.

“I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that. See you soon, Cloud.”

Tifa hangs up the phone and he follows suit, adding the number she gave him to his contacts under “ _Important Delivery_.” That should do the trick. After he finishes his current deliveries he can find out what it is this mystery person wants or needs and then head home. Being a delivery boy had its ups and downs just like everything else, but what he enjoyed the most about it was the freedom he felt when riding Fenrir across Gaia. There really weren’t many things better than taking her out for a drive, but home was something special too. Home was another form of peace he could never recreate.

Absentmindedly, Cloud flips through the contacts on his phone and looks at all their names and numbers. He never really used his phone a lot and doesn’t have many other contacts aside from his friends so the list is rather small, but he goes down from top to bottom and reads off their names in his head:

 _Home_ , previously being 7th Heaven. It was only a few years ago that he swapped the names. 

 _Tifa_. She still has her cellphone, but since the bar started up again they mainly talk through there. She calls him privately from time to time when everyone is on the move, though seeing her name light up on the screen when things are different makes him a little worried.

 _Barret_. He always seems to call whenever Cloud is too busy to pick up, leaving messages of shouting or getting grumpy over just about anything. Knowing his name is still “Spiky” in his phone irks him a little, but he knows it’ll never change.

 _Reeve_. He’s been awfully busy with the WRO, but always leaves a message here and there to say hello and offer help. Sometimes he can hear Cait Sith getting rowdy about something in the background of different voicemails.

 _Cid_. Getting a call from him is one of the rarest, but there’s never a time he won’t send a message or two about his new “Shera” and how he wants everyone to come take a ride. He hasn’t spoken to Tifa about it yet, but he thinks the kids might like to go up once.

 _Yuffie_. Still the same materia fanatic Yuffie, calling to brag about her finds or leaving a message talking about the success of the WRO and asking Cloud to join, but he never answers them. The one time he called back she nearly talked his ear off.

 _Vincent_ . He’s still having a little trouble using his new cellphone. If it wasn’t for Marlene teaching him and being so patient with such a grump like him, there’d be no other way of contacting him when he was needed and he’d no doubt disappear all over again. They don’t speak regularly, but Vincent is always one of the first to let him know if something serious is happening.

 _Red XIII_  would be on the list if he had a phone and, of course, if he could use one, but he stays close to the bar most of the time and if there were any pressing matter Cloud needed to know of or vice versa, they’d find each other. Believe it or not, they were always pretty close.

 _And_ …

 

* * *

 

_“I should get one too, huh? A phone. Everyone else has one.”_

_Cloud lifts his head from the screen on his cellphone and looks in her direction. “Oh. I guess so.”_

_“She’s right. We all need to keep in contact in case we split up,” chimes Tifa, a small smile on her face. They’d just got done contacting the others and were about to meet up at a local inn for a bit of a meeting and maybe a good night’s sleep after a lot of days spent awake and running around. He’d never thought about it before since she was always close by, but it would be a good idea for her to stay in touch if she ever wandered off. She was definitely that type._

_“There may be a shop nearby selling phones,” says Red XIII as he strides up beside her, his head turned up and tail swaying casually. “Shall we look?”_

_The items in the area were relatively cheap so gil wasn’t a problem, and a phone was a phone so long as it worked properly, but.. Cloud was tired. It was important, he knew that, but if it were up to him alone he’d wait until the next morning to go shopping again. Before he can even make a facial expression or say anything at all, Tifa speaks up and takes her hand tenderly._

_“I’ll go buy one with you. I think I know the place,” she says, her gaze shifting to Red XIII. He nods and walks before the both of them._

_“So will I.” Ah, Red XIII, always the gentleman. He makes half the party look like assholes, but Cloud doesn’t really mind. Who would he to be denying that truth now of all times? The three of them walk off before saying they’ll meet up at the designated spot in under an hour, and Cloud goes off on his own to find the others arriving only a few minutes later. After they all regroup and unwind, speaking about a few things they’d all done on their own, findings, and of course important information on what to do next and where to go, the girls and their furry friend return shortly._

_“Got one!” Her voice is a little excited, and it even gains a few funny “woohoo’s” and fists shot straight up in the air from Yuffie. Even Cid, but he’s always been just as overly excited about things despite seeming like a grumpy old man at times. It’s kind of relieving._

_Tifa is happy and Red XIII seems pleased as he finds a corner of the inn's room to curl up in and close his eyes for a while before the meeting starts. She takes her phone and goes to each party member to give her number and save theirs in her phone, some of them getting goofy nicknames and some of them staying the same, but the room is calm and maybe even fun with all the chatter._

_She makes her rounds and finally comes to Cloud who’s last on the list, his phone out and waiting for the number. He recites his number and she saves it, not telling him whether she’s given him a different contact name or not, and then she recites her own for him to do the same._

_“..How do you spell your name?” It’s something he’s yet to ask. He could guess it if he really wanted to, but he might as well just find out now._

_She laughs, softly and so very kindly, and then leans forward to look at his phone screen so she can watch him put it in. Her bangs fall forward and he notices that her eyelashes are long and thick before he quickly looks back down at the screen and gets ready for her to spell it out._

_“It’s easy---”_

 

* * *

 

His finger feels like stone on the button and he stands still. There’s a complicated wave of emotions which hits him all at once in the very moment he sees the name highlighted, when he says it in his head like it’s something he hasn’t said in ages, like it’s a name he’s not meant to say, but it stays in his head and he never says it aloud. Never. That’d be too hard a feat.

 

The wind picks up and he’s reminded of where he is and what he’s been doing. Taking a trip down memory lane has probably cost him some precious time and his usual streak of making deliveries fast may be in danger, but he doesn’t panic. Cloud simply looks over the screen for a little while, thinking to himself, looking at it like it’s an old photo of sorts, like it’s a memory, and it is, but it’s a barbed one. A rose with vibrant petals but sharp thorns. Bittersweet nostalgia.

 

* * *

 

 

_After all numbers have been shared and everyone goes their own way, she goes off to a corner and creates a quick voicemail message, pressing all the buttons and locking it in. She strides over again and closes her phone. “How’s that?”_

_“Good enough,” says Cloud, closing his phone and leaning back onto his designated bed. There was still a meeting to be held, but all he could think of was taking a well needed nap. They could hold it in the morning, couldn’t they?_

_She grins, leaning forward like before while pointing her finger out at him playfully._

_“Better call me.”_

_He nods. “Okay.”_

. . . . .

_“You’ve reached Aerith! I’m busy right now, but I’ll get back to you soon, ‘kay? Leave a message if you want. Promise I’ll listen.”_

_Beep. … Click._

_“You’ve reached Aerith! I’m busy right now, but I’ll get back to you soon, ‘kay? Leave a message if you want. Promise I’ll listen.”_

_Beep. … Click._

_“You’ve reached Aerith! I’m busy right now, but I’ll get back to you soon, ‘kay? Leave a message if you want. Promise I’ll listen.”_

_Beep. … Click._

_**“We’re sorry, but the number you’ve dialed is no longer in service. Please try again.”**_

_Click._

**Author's Note:**

> this was just a vent drabble i wrote after reliving the whole compilation (for the millionth time) and thinking about the fragility of cloud's mental state right after losing her. i warped some canon in this to create the scenarios (aerith not having a phone at the beginning) and we all know she disappears off the phs when she's gone, but i'd like to think that cloud would hold onto the little things for comfort and it would be very difficult for him to let them go seeing as how losing her was so hard on him.


End file.
